


round and round (i'll come home to you)

by namusol



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, OOC love for elephants, Summer, Tinder
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-10-11 17:45:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17451506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/namusol/pseuds/namusol
Summary: Jeonghan and Seungcheol keep getting it wrong, from their meet-cute up to the end.(This is not angst.)





	1. Chapter 1

It's not that Yoon Jeonghan is ugly.

On the contrary—and he's not being arrogant here, okay—he's been told that his looks can be compared with the likes of Kim Jaejoong. He's been mistaken as an idol once, too. Not to mention the compliments he gets from his mom on a daily basis (she makes sure to send him a message every morning, wishing him a good day, showering him with positivity, reminding him that he’s an intelligent sunshine whose beauty shines inside and out; he's got the best mom ever, what can you do?).

Brains isn’t a problem either. He’s been an honor student since elementary, a champion in quiz bees, even an encyclopedia of random facts -

“Are you hyping yourself up again?” Seungkwan asks him, exasperated.

Jeonghan splutters, “I am not!”

Seungkwan raises an eyebrow, clearly implying that he's not gonna fall for any of Jeonghan's bullshit at this moment. “You purse your lips and your eyes go hazy when you do it, so don't even deny it now.”

Jeonghan sighs, too down to even deny it a second time. His friend just looks at him with zero amount of sympathy.

“Is it about not having a boyfriend?”

So maybe his friend is right that he's been hyping himself up internally. Seungkwan knows he does that when he's discouraged and hopeless, so shouldn't he be more sympathetic than this? Does it matter if Jeonghan's been whining about not having a boyfriend for a month straight? Seriously, Seungkwan should have more patience for his best friend.

“It’s your own fault you're single anyway, you're too picky,” his friend says, _snottily_ , while looking at his phone. “Guys flock at you, you brush them off, then you complain about being single.”

“I'm not being picky! It's just that I haven't connected with anyone I know.” Jeonghan rests his forehead on the cafeteria table. It's probably swimming with bacteria and whatever, but he's _sad_ , okay, and his best friend doesn't even pretend to sympathize. He grumbles, “I don't really expect you to understand, you've had Hansol before you even knew the concept of interests and hobbies.”

He feels fingers brushing through his hair, probably to distract him from the smug smile Seungkwan has on his face. He can't see it, because his forehead is still flat on the table, but he knows from years of experience that Seungkwan will have that smug Hansol Smile on his face whenever his boyfriend is mentioned.

Because see, unlike Jeonghan who has been single since birth, Seungkwan has always had his boyfriend, Hansol. Their mothers were childhood best friends who basically forced their children to play together and hang out until they become best friends themselves. Seungkwan, being Seungkwan, just had to do the most; he fell in love with his best friend who fell in love with him too. They have always been inseparable even before they got together so literally nobody was surprised when Seungkwan and Hansol came out to their families by declaring they're gay for each other.

Yeah, Jeonghan is a little jealous, but who's asking?

“Well, just think about it like this: you can use this time to focus on yourself! For self-development… and stuff?” Seungkwan tells him, upbeat. He's trying, at least. “I heard single people go backpacking abroad? You can visit Thailand and bathe elephants!”

Jeonghan raises his head but Seungkwan doesn't dislodge his hand. It looks like he's blessing Jeonghan with the energy of someone with a boyfriend. “I'd love to slap you for not knowing what single people do with their time but I actually would love to bathe elephants.”

“I know.” Seungkwan smiles, tapping his head.

 

One of the things that boosts Jeonghan’s mood these days is the promise of an entire summer break after their final exams. Getting out of the building after his final exam that he totally aced, he raised his head towards the clear sky and savoured the warmth of the sun on his face.

Months of just chilling out? Lying down at home the whole day? Count him the fuck in.

Maybe after he shakes off the two annoying brats clinging to him, though.

“Seriously, ya! Lee Jihoon.” Jeonghan shakes his left arm where Jihoon. “Kim Mingyu.” His right arm. “Why are you two badgering me? How are you done with your exams when I just got out of mine?”

The two just let out little grumbles, like babies who are too sad to throw proper tantrums.

 _God_. Jeonghan loves babies. He can never deny them anything, so he sighs and drags the three of them on a nearby bench. Jihoon lets his arm go when they sit down but rests his head on Jeonghan’s shoulder. On the other hand, quite literally, Mingyu starts tugging.

“Okay, what is it?”

“ _Hyung_ , you gotta come with us!” he says urgently, lips pursed in a perfectly executed pout. “There’s this indie band we like, right? Boys Be? They have a gig down at Hotspot tonight and we really want to go!”

Jeonghan still doesn’t understand why he has to go with them. He hasn’t even heard a song by Boys Be. “And you need me to chaperone why?”

“Because we finally decided to speak with them today but we need your support, so please please?” Mingyu clasps his hands together and looks at Jeonghan with one of his most convincing puppy-dog eyes. Jeonghan is on the verge of agreeing, _sure, no questions asked he will do anything for his boys,_ when Mingyu continues, “And you know Jihoon _hyung_ has been crushing on their drummer so he needs more support tonight!”

In the blink of an eye, Mingyu is on the ground, groaning.

Jihoon acts like he didn’t just shove his six-footer friend from the bench down to the ground. “Mingyu’s the one crushing on one of them! Their photographer or whatever. Besides, I want to go  because I like their music and nothing else. They write and arrange their own songs,” he explains to Jeonghan, sweet and soft. “ _Hyung_ , I want to collaborate with them before I graduate but I can’t even approach them about it.”

Jeonghan doesn’t need more convincing, mostly because he’s slightly terrified these two will hurt each other trying to raise their argument toward a _common goal,_ and he’s already a little intrigued about how good this band is because Jihoon is very particular with his music, being a Music major and all, but.

He’s already looking forward to going to bed without a care in the world immediately when he gets home today. He’s finally allowed to be lazy, he wants to make the most out of it.

Mingyu seems to sense his hesitation, though. He sits back down on Jeonghan’s other side, not before throwing a nasty glare towards Jihoon, and shares, “Chan is coming too, but he says he won’t play wingman so that doesn’t really mean much for us.”

“What? Chan is coming? My baby?” Jeonghan is a little scandalized; Lee Chan has been his baby since the start of this school year, when they met during orientation and Chan was only a quiet boy with a crew cut. Who also was a beast on the dance floor. Jeonghan only knew him for at least two hours when Chan danced to represent his group but Jeonghan almost wanted to cry because he was so proud. “Why didn’t he tell me?”

“You know why he doesn’t tell you things, _hyung_ ,” Jihoon answers, rolling his eyes. “You go all frantic and treat him like a baby.”

“Because he is a baby. He’s my baby, remember?”

“Yeah,” Jihoon and Mingyu sigh in unison before exchanging a meaningful look, one which Jeonghan decidedly ignores.

If Mingyu mentioned Chan here to convince him to go, he did a good call. Hotspot is known as a hole-in-the-wall indie music club filled with all sorts of people. Jeonghan knows it’s safe to go there, been there a few times, too. But they also serve alcohol, and Jeonghan is still a little skeptical about letting Chan consume alcohol when there’s no chaperone present.

He’s about to finally give in to Jihoon and Mingyu who both go back to grumbling beside him (just how much do they like this band? Jeonghan is getting simultaneously amused and terrified of this behavior from his two friends) when he sees Chan walking towards their direction.

Their eyes meet. Chan carefully tries to walk backwards from where he just came from.

“Lee Chan!” Jeonghan calls. “Don’t try to run and come here.”

Obediently, Chan trudges towards his three hyungs, a resigned look on his face. “Hey.”

“I heard you’re coming with these two later to see Boys Be?”

“Yes…” Chan replies slowly, like he’s not sure why he’s being asked this. “I am, yeah.”

“And do you plan on drinking alcohol there?” Jeonghan squints his eyes.

Chan gets it then, a little bit of dread snaking on his features. “ _Hyung_ … I do plan on drinking alcohol, yes, but just a bottle of beer and I’ll be good! That’s it!”

Jeonghan nods. “Yep, okay. I’ll go with you guys.”

Jihoon and Mingyu cheer, Chan hangs his head in defeat.

 

When Jeonghan enters the club, he immediately feels uncomfortable, mostly because he's already in vacation mode and vacation mode means he wants to spend an entire day lying down on his bed, either watching Netflix or napping, and less people to interact with.

It's still a little early, according to Jihoon, but a crowd is already starting to form in the cramped space - lounging on the mismatched couches by the walls, sitting on the stools at the bar. Hence the discomfort.

He pulls Chan to a vacant seat on one of the couches.

There's no stage or even a platform set up anywhere, just a drum set and guitar stands resting with the speakers, an empty space allotted in front of it where the audience will flock towards when the bands start performing. That's nice to know there won't be a divide between the audience and the performers.

Maybe that'll help his friends gain the confidence they need to talk to this band.

Where are those two anyway?

“Hyung.” Chan pulls a little on Jeonghan's hand to get his attention. “Mingyu and Jihoon hyung went to the store at the back to check their second hand CDs and vinyls. I'm going to get a beer, what about you? There's a free drink that comes with the entrance ticket that we bought.”

“Get me a beer, too. And then we'll stick with iced tea after, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chan sighs, rolling his eyes. “I'll be back.”

 

Jeonghan has to admit, Boys Be sounds good. He knows about them before only because his friends mention the band a lot, but he never really heard them live. Jihoon and Mingyu are at the front, enjoying the music (and the members, if their teasing has been real) and Chan is keeping him company on the couch. To be honest, it doesn’t seem like they need any support from him.

“They’re good, aren’t they, _hyung_?” Chan asks, leaning to whisper in Jeonghan’s ear.

Jeonghan nods and tilts his head. “They are.” Jeonghan chews on his lower lip, wondering if he should say this. “And their guitarist looks cute,” he says, lowly.

Chan looks at him like he just sprouted another head. “Did you just get a crush?”

“I think I do,” Jeonghan sighs, smiling a little. “Ah, look at him. His pink hair looks so cool.”

“I think Jisoo _hyung_ might be straight, though?”

The band starts a cover song about letting go of past loves. The crowd cheers.

Jeonghan frowns; that’s so like him to like the most unavailable person in the room. “Well, this is me saying hello and goodbye to my crush, then. Whatever, I’m going to the toilet.”

“Don’t get lost.”

He ignores that dig at his inability to have a sense of direction and looks for the sign to the toilet; he doesn't really need to go, but the feeling of being alone (that is, not having a boyfriend) is back and it's making him antsy.

It's difficult to move around, mostly because the space is small and currently filled, unlike when they first arrived. Jeonghan had to squeeze himself into spaces between people just to get to the other side, squinting a little because it's also dark and dingy and the light is red to give that punk vibe (maybe).

Someone bumps his back, almost toppling him over if it weren't for the fact that there's really no space for him to fall into. “Oh, shit. Sorry.”

And that someone who bumped into him holds him on his stomach, as if it's his instinct to wrap his arms around people he bumps into. Jeonghan's back is pressed on the person's firm chest, and okay, maybe they should separate now, but someone moves and traps the other guy's arm so that he can't pull away even if he tries.

“Shit, shit,” he whispers (softly yells, more like, because it's a closed space and the speakers are booming music from left and right) but he does it directly to Jeonghan's ear, “sorry. I didn't mean to touch.”

“It's okay,” he says back, looking at him. It's still dark and cramped but their faces are so close and without a doubt, this guy is handsome with his sharp cheekbones and long fucking eyelashes, what the fuck.

“Those are so fucking long,” he says, a little dazed.

“Sorry?”

Jeonghan realizes what he just said and starts to pull away when one of the person near them moves. “I said it wasn't your fault. Don't worry about it.”

The guy smiles and tugs on his gray shirt, exposing his collar bones. ( _Holy shit_ , Jeonghan thinks.) He's about to say something when someone suddenly pulls him back, a guy with a camera slung on his neck. “Dude, come on, they're almost done!”

The crowd moves and clears the way for them without a problem.

And then they're gone.

“What the fuck.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jeonghan goes on Tinder!

“Wait, no. Tell me again?”

It’s a sunny day. The sky is so blue that you’d think you’re looking at a solid color of painting instead of the actual sky. It's perfect for lounging outside and bathing under the sun, relaxing while updating your friend of your recent stressful failed attempt at holding in your grasp the possible love of your life.

Jeonghan rolls his eyes. “Jun, I already told you three times. I don't exactly enjoy remembering how I just let my possible future husband get away without at least knowing his name.”

He's currently lying down on one of the recliners lined up in Hansol's poolside while he catches up his friend on his misfortune last night. This morning he was determined to wallow in regret at home and sleep all day, maybe, but Jun and Seungkwan managed to convince him to do that at Hansol's place instead. Hansol is on a self-imposed mission to do as much cannonballs that he can without breaking a bone while his boyfriend enables him, waterproof phone trained on him to record the whole thing.

Hansol and Seungkwan may have their love life all figured out, but they still shouldn't be left alone unsupervised, Jeonghan thinks with a grimace.

“I just don't get it,” Jun gripes. “If your guy's so good-looking how could you just let him go like that? It's like you're determined to sabotage your own chances.”

Jeonghan closes his eyes and let out a deep breath. “Maybe I'm just going to grow old alone in an empty house because nothing I will ever have can spark joy.”

Jun throws a towel on his face. Jeonghan doesn't even bother to swat it away when it lands.

“Well, what happened with Mingyu and Jihoon? Did _they_ at least get to talk with the band? Or did they fuck up their chances, too?”

Pool water splashes on Jeonghan’s arms. “That was a good one, babe!” Seungkwan encourages his boyfriend. “I got it on camera!”

He doesn't like how Jun phrased that question; it's not totally his fault that he had a soft grip on his future boyfriend's arm, _okay._  He ignores Jun.

Hansol has a different idea, though. “I heard from Chan that Mingyu hyung got the number of that guy he has a crush on!”

Jeonghan opens his eye to scrutinize Hansol. After returning from the restroom last night and failing to find the love of his life, he returned to Chan to tell him he'd be going home first. If he wasn't in the mood when they got to Hotspot, he lost all will to pretend he was fine after losing his chances at meeting his ideal person so he's not familiar with Mingyu's progress.

Hansol swims to the side of the pool and rests his chin on his folded arms, Seungkwan clinging on his shoulders. He continues, “He accidentally spilled a drink on this guy's camera when the guy was about to leave. I thought Chan was going to have a heart attack while telling me this morning, he was laughing so hard.”

“Mingyu hyung couldn't care less, though?” Seungkwan interjects. “I called him to ask about it and he was still so excited even though he said the Wonwoo guy was almost ready to strangle him last night.”

Jun rolls his eyes. “That's called being optimistic. At least he already has the number and the connection with his prospect. Meaning: _something to work with_. Something Jeonghan does not have.”

“Why are you attacking me again. Just let me die alone.”

“To be fair, Chan said Jihoon hyung practically ran to hide after Boys Be's set when Mingyu wanted to drag him to the band,” Hansol shrugs. “And Jeonghan hyung, you aren't going to die alone. You just need to chill while waiting for your person. He'll come.”

Touched, Jeonghan sits up and is about to give Hansol a hug (this boy might be spaced out most of the time, but he still has a lot of wisdom when he's in the mood) when he sees Seungkwan's expression. “Ya, Boo Seungkwan… what are you making that face for?!”

“I'm sorry!’” Seungkwan yells, finally letting out the laugh he's been holding in. “It's just. How can you just wait for your person and not die alone when you're as picky as you are? And you don't even like going out so how are you going to meet people?”

Jeonghan opens his mouth to defend himself… and closes it again. What does he have to say for himself? Seungkwan has a point, he does hate going out; even hanging out here at Hansol's place took a lot of convincing. He murmurs, “I'm not really that picky…”

“No, you are. And Seungkwan's right, you will never meet any new people at this rate. And you don't really have friends you would want to date so you don't have much options.” Jun lounges on his chair and adapts the image of a contemplating scholar. “You know what you need, Jeonghan?”

“A blind date?” Hansol guesses.

Seungkwan shakes his head. “Nah, that'll take precious time away from his bed.”

“A dating app,” Jun tells them all. “Jeonghan needs a dating app, Tinder maybe?”

Hansol tilts his head, looking like he's trying to decide whether this is a good idea or not.

“Jun hyung, do you know how many horror Tinder stories there are out there? People get catfished by their Tinder dates! Robbed! Kidnapped! Killed!”

Obviously, Seungkwan doesn't agree with that suggestion. He has a point, Jeonghan thinks. He's not comfortable talking to strangers because of the effort he has to exert trying to figure out what kind of person he's talking to, how he's going to interact with that person without offending them, and doing small talk. And it really is dangerous to meet people online when you don't even know anyone in common. What if they're kidnappers and kidnaps Jeonghan to sell him to human traffickers?!

Jun sits up and glares at Jeonghan. “I know what you're thinking! You don't like the pressure and the small talks and being killed by strangers from the internet, right?”

(Whoa, Jun is a good friend; he knows Jeonghan really well.)

Jun continues, “Dating apps really isn't that dangerous as long as you use it responsibly and not trust every person you meet. And it's good for conversations, too, as long as you're clear with the person about what you want out of the experience. Don't cross it out just yet.”

“Hyung…” Seungkwan says, “how often do you use apps like that? Do they pay you to promote them?”

Jun rolls his eyes. “Hansol, you think it's a good idea, don't you?”

“Uh, why is my opinion getting dragged here? Don't mind me,” Hansol replies before turning around and kissing Seungkwan on the lips twice, swimming to the other side of the pool after.

“Does he know he doesn't have to kiss you every time he has to put one meter distance between you two?” Jeonghan gripes.

“Don't get distracted!” Jun snaps two fingers in front of Jeonghan's face, Jeonghan promptly slapping the offending hand. “Tinder. You. Now.”

Seungkwan smirks. “Jun hyung, he's not gonna do it. Look at his face; he's just waiting for you to let it go so he can be free to forget about the idea.”

“Why don't you go back to recording your boyfriend's diving techniques,” Jeonghan snarks.

Shrugging, Seungkwan looks behind him to see Hansol diving sideways. “He's done that before, I've already recorded him doing that like a hundred times.”

Jun purses his lips, shakes his head, and puts on his sunglasses, deciding that his sunbathing will get him more outcome than persuading his friend to do something he doesn't usually do.

 

“Ah, I wish I have a Minhyuk right now,” Jeonghan laments, squishing his face on his pillow.

He’s been binge-watching _Strong Woman Do Bongsoon_ for over ten hours and so far, it’s not helping with his fixation on wanting a boyfriend. It’s summer, there are no courseworks to worry about, there is unlimited time to burn, and he wants his own Ahn Minhyuk to coddle him when he’s bored.

Maybe Jun has a point when he suggested Tinder.

Contemplating the pros and cons of signing up on dating apps, Jeonghan pauses his drama and turns over so that he’s staring at his bedroom’s ceiling. The pros of using a dating app: (a) he’ll have something to do during the break, (b) he’ll get to practice his small talk (beyond talking about the weather), and (c) maybe he’ll also finally connect with someone? Maybe.

Cons: it’ll probably be littered with people looking for hook up. He won’t even be scared about getting killed by serial killers because he won’t actually connect with anyone enough to want to meet up with them.

Whatever, he has the time. He’s gonna do it.

 

A few minutes and some videos of smiling elephants later, Jeonghan's Tinder profile is all set. He used his favorite photo of a smiling elephant as his display picture since he can't make himself use his own; he just wants to talk to people, they don't need to see his face for that. His bio isn't very personal either, just some cute fun fact about elephants (They can recognize themselves in the mirror! They make movements to see if it's really their reflection! Jeonghan wants to melt whenever he remembers) for consistency of his theme.

Okay, now it's swiping time.

He's been swiping for five minutes only when he found a match. Even more surprised, the guy messaged him first.

“ _ㅋㅋㅋ_ ”

“Oh.” Jeonghan bites his lip, thinking if he has the energy to reply to this. He types, “ _Not even a hello? At least greet me before you laugh at me_.” He tacks on a sad face emoji because he's in the mood to be difficult.

“ _Oh, I'm sorry._ ” The guy responds in formal language now. Jeonghan giggles, this guy is easy.

Jeonghan goes back to swiping.

 _Left, left. Right. Left_.

After a while, he gets bored of the whole thing. He finds quite a few match, guys who look good and puts effort in their profiles, making Jeonghan wonder why they swiped right on a fairly anonymous profile with only a smiling elephant as a display picture and a random fact about them. One of them even sent him an offer for a no-strings-attached one-time sex. Which is decidedly not an offer from a stranger he is interested in taking ever.

He is about to uninstall the app and forget about Tinder altogether when he receives a notification. Maybe he'll just check it out before giving up the idea. One look won't hurt.

“ _Elephants think humans are cute. Like humans think dogs and cats are cute_.”

Before Jeonghan can think about a reply, another message came in.

“ _I'm actually not sure how true that is, but if there's an elephant trivia that I wish was true, it'd be that. At least elephants think we're cute, right_?”

Jeonghan takes a deep breath. Despite what others think ( _shut_ up _, Seungkwan_ ), he's not picky. He just wants someone who he can talk to about any topic he can think of. Someone who won't bat an eyelash to a change of topic, no matter how unusual.

“Humans also get this urge to bite babies because we find them very very cute. Imagine: elephants getting the same urge to bite humans,” Jeonghan types; he spends approximately 0.5 second to think if that's too weird to say to a stranger on a dating app (“ _It fucking_ is, _dear god, Jeonghan,_ ” he can imagine Jun saying, but he's not here, so.) but decides if this guy thinks that's too weird, then he's boring.

He presses send and visits his Match's profile.

_Cheol, 24. Student. Please don't ask me what's up I don't know how to answer that question._

He remembers swiping right because he's wearing the same hoodie that Jeonghan's currently wearing in his only display picture, face covered except for a pair of pouty lips.

Tinder pings to signal a reply. “ _Feel free to bite me when you get the urge someday."_

Maybe Jeonghan will keep this one. “ _I'll remember that_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Chapter 2 is finally here! Been busy with work and school and the whole Home promotions to write 😭
> 
> But this era has been a success, I think, so everything has been worth it. Let's continue streaming Home on Youtube and every available site to raise their ranks on the charts. Keep mentioning them on twitter to raise their Billboard Social 50 rank, let's get them to the BBMAs!
> 
> Okay now that that's been said, what do you think of the update? Sorry I only mentioned Cheol at the ending of the first two chapters, but we're getting more of him in the next chapters, promise! 
> 
> Talk to me on twitter? I'm @chinotchew 💓


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